Unity 2.6 released and is now free to use

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Unity Technologies has launched version 2.6 of its cross-platform games engine and with it also dropped the license fee of $199 previously required to use it.

By effectively making Unity free to use anyone can now download it and start developing games for PC, Mac, and the web. With additional license payments a game can also be created for iPhone or Wii; as well as unlocking the professional version of the engine and the additional features that accompany it.

The quality of the Unity package is demonstrated by the fact there are already 10,000 developers using it and games including Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, Quest for R2D2, and FusionFall have been developed on the platform. With the release of version 2.6 Unity gets full integration with Visual Studio, support for Subversion and Perforce, and a range of graphical enhancements aimed at the Pro license users. Playing games through the Unity Web Player should also become a smoother experience as the performance of streaming games has been improved in a number of areas.

Going completely free for an indie license will come as a surprise to a lot of developers, but at the same time it will drastically increase the number of people trying out the engine and tool set. Ultimately the money for Unity Technologies lies in the Pro and console licensing sales so it looks like the company just figured allowing a much larger user base for the standard version would push up sales of those other licenses eventually.

For new developers this is a great platform on which to build your games. You get PC, Mac, and web development for free, and then if your game proves a success Wii and iPhone releases are available using your existing code base for a price. The Unity Web Player is also very slick being a tiny add-on to install for a browser, but unlocking the full potential of a 3D engine. You only have to look at what Blurst is doing with its games to see how good Unity is.

A final extra good piece of news is that Unity is also being updated to work with Xbox 360 bringing yet another platform to target. Check out all the details in the Gamasutra interview with David Helgason.